They were initially to settle the score on May 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but the fight was officially called off on April 3 after Alvarez withdrew from the bout.

Per Rafael, the sanctioning body does have a rule allowing Golovkin to seek an exception to a mandatory fight, but the IBF seems to be dead set against giving Martirosyan a shot at their title.

Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 knockouts) was temporarily suspended by the commission on March 23.

The ruling means Alvarez, who did not attend the hearing, will be free to fight again in August - raising the possibility of a rescheduled Golovkin fight in September. "I'm sparring, I'm on weight", Martirosyan recently told the Los Angeles Times.

But with so little time to properly prepare for a world title fight, opponent options are slim and the fighter's team does not want to be pushed into a situation where their guy has to fight a high-level opponent without the chance to properly prepare.

"Vanes Martirosyan is now the most important fight of my career".

The standard recommended suspension of one year was lessened because of Alvarez's cooperation with authorities.

Alvarez can now reschedule his fight against Gennady Golovkin, who he was supposed to meet in a rematch on May 5. The suspension back-dates from his first failed drug test which was on February 17.

At a hearing in Las Vegas, the commission unanimously approved a deal that will see Alvarez suspended for six months from the date of his failed test on February 17.